Project Activities

I) A survey of needs, ideas, existing practices and evaluation

The survey will render an accurate picture of the expectations and existing practices at the different participating organisations as well as at the satelite contributors. This first step is necessary for the format for virtual exchange as well as for the direction of the feasibility study on an accredited joint curriculum. The survey will touch on at least the following elements: a) the desired function and form of the format to be developed, b) the technical/IT platforms currently in use an their advantages and disadvantages, c) the different pedagogic and didactic standards currently in use and d)the overall expectations for virtual exchange. A report with findings form the collected survey data will be conducted. At the end of the project a second round of surveys shall be held, this time also involving the wider groups of participants such as students, teachers and involved professionals. The findings shall again be combined into a report.

ΙΙ) IT development

The project has the following IT components:
o The IT possibilities of the format to be developed taking into account certain standard IT features
o On-line interaction tools
A mix of different available (free) on-line communication tools will be selected, consisting of social media, discussion forums, real-time communication and blogs in order to ensure that students who will be taking a virtually exchanged course simultaneously at different universities, as well as their teachers, will interact with each other on-line.
o The use of an open on-line platform for further opening up to wider target groups of the virtual exchange courses
A platform will be selected based on previous experiences of the participating organisations.

III) Pedagogic and didactic support

This activity will consist of the following components:
o The development of a course format and guidelines based on pedagogic and didactic best practices. The best practices shall stem from the expertise and experience of the involved professional in this field, the survey results and further interaction amongst the involved teachers/universities
o A pilot project whereby this format and these guidelines are tested
o The full implementation of virtual exchange courses
o Regular trainings on the format and the guidelines for participating teachers
o Continuous didactic and pedagogical back-up support

IV) Elaboration of a Feasibility study

This activity will consist of the following components:
o Carrying out a mapping study of current hindrances to the establishment of a fully recognized and accredited blended Master amongst the involved project partners
o Development of possible models (such as joint degrees, double degrees and local degrees based on exchange with other universities) with their advantages and disadvantages
o Drafting a final feasibility study for academics, universities and policy makers. This report shall offer a blue print of how the participating organisations could arrive at a blended Master programme.

V) Curriculum building

This activity will consist of the following components:
o Examining which courses can be provided by the participating organisations and satellite contributors according to their excellence in a discipline
o Safeguarding the academic quality of the separate courses as well as of the curriculum on offer its totality
o Drafting and updating a “course catalogue” in which all the courses on offer for virtual exchange are listed and explained
o Exploring which additional universities are willing to offer their social security courses on-line and what their added value could be
o Testing the interrelation between on-line courses and residential courses through the combination between virtual exchange and the Young Researchers School
o Making a proposal for a comprehensive curriculum for a blended Master on European social security

VI) Dissemination and networking

This activity will consist of the following components:
o Identification of communication and networking activities per target group and compilation of a communication plan
o Development of the project web page
o Organization of dissemination events (roundtables, day events) in different countries
o Elaboration of promotional material and creation of the project’s newsletter
o Dissemination of the project results through the internet, the social media and existing networks

Multiplier events

A number of meetings will be organized which will focus on the following:
• the dissemination of the experiences from the project and its format to a wider audience of education specialists, policy makers, teachers and students
• the challenges and opportunities for the accreditation of common European study programmes and the exchange of best practices in this area
• the dissemination of the IT tools and best practices developed or selected for the virtual teaching and learning

Learning/ teaching and training activities

The EFESE project will include a number of learning/ teaching and training activities. Specifically:
• Intensive training programmes for learners
Students enrolled in an already existing program (Master European social security) as well as students registered in other Master programmes at the participating organisations will benefit from these training activities. The goal is to provide the students with in depth-knowledge on the issues of social security and methodology, to make them acquainted with IT and on-line environments and communication and to make them aware of professional and European perspectives on their field of study.
• Intensive training programmes for teaching staff
These training programmes will be delivered to universities staff and the main objective is to make them acquainted with the on-line platform and format in order to apply it in the teaching environment. Trainings will be organized at the different implementing organisations to instruct local teachers and give them feedback.